


Cold in Love

by Halfmoon1720



Category: Goblin Slayer (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 13:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfmoon1720/pseuds/Halfmoon1720
Relationships: Goblin Slayer/Priestess (Goblin Slayer)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

The cold nip in the wind promised an early, harsh winter. The days grew shorter, darker, and the nights became frozen and bleak. The weak glistening sunlight had a way of making all the bare trees look beautiful, though. 

Priestess was never built for cold weather. The wind blew right through her, rattling her bones and chilling her skin to an unbearable temperature. She bundled up as much as possible while still being able to move quickly, but it wasn’t enough. Her layers upon layers of clothing only seemed to hold off the howling wind for a short period of time before the frigidness of it all seemed to break through. Her constant teeth chattering was starting to annoy her. 

“Is there any way we can stay in an inn tonight?” She squealed when a particularly harsh gust of wind came in from the northwest. She shivered violently, her small frame telling her brain she needed to curl up in a ball somewhere and light herself on fire, just to be warm again. Her only companion kept walking, and she thought for a moment that he didn’t hear her over the noise. She huffed and tried to make her legs go faster to catch up to him, but he was already in the midst of turning, face hidden behind his familiar helmet. She almost ran into him.

“Goblin Slayer, it’s horrible out here.” Her chattering voice carried a bit with the wind, but the slight incline of his silver, beaten up, helmet told her he heard her. The stoic man said nothing, but she recognized his ‘thinking’ stance. Priestess sighed. She could probably read his silence better than anyone, but that didn’t stop her from missing the talkative people of the group. High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest headed south before fall ended, because the Lizard Priest would not fair well in a northern winter. 

She wished she had been convincing enough to persuade Goblin Slayer into going as well. He would have been left all alone if she had given in to High Elf Archer’s pleading herself, however, and she couldn’t do that to him. Not after all they’ve been through together. 

“We’re too far to turn back,” His surprisingly soothing voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she blinked up at him, her eyebrows rising when she realized she had shuffled closer to him during that long pause. “And the next town is on the other side. The nest we’re cleaning out is five miles that way.” 

The towns that surrounded the base of the chain of mountains the two of them were currently trekking were being routinely attacked by a rather big horde of goblins. Goblin Slayer had been called in to help, and the two of them had already cleaned out three of the seven mini nest that made up the big horde.

Priestess was exhausted but she had agreed with Goblin Slayer to take out one more nest before they stopped for the night.

She had one spell left, and the end of her staff was kinda bloody. She scrunched her face up as she looked down at it. Goblin Slayer handled most of them like the battle hungry fiend he could be, but she had had to improvise for herself a couple of times. He quietly made sure she was ok after every battle, and his touching concern was the only reason she wasn’t throwing a big fit right now.

“I don’t think I can last the night out here, sir.” She shivered and to her dismay, a flake of snow fell from the sky. Goblin Slayer had the air of someone who was frowning, and he reached forward to catch the snowflake, shifting slightly to look up at the sky. She heard him make a dissatisfied sound. 

“These mountains have plenty of shallow caves we can stay in. I’ll have to look for one that’s safe.” He turned back to look at her, his hidden eyes taking in the violent shivering that she couldn’t seem to control. “Can you make it to the next nest?”

She really wanted to say yes. If there was one thing she hated, it was disappointing him. Maybe once they reach the nest, the adrenaline of fighting would help keep her warm.

“Yes. I think I’ll be ok. I just wanted somewhere warm to sleep.” Her breath came out in small gust of visible steam. The temperature was rapidly dropping as more snow came down. Goblin Slayer went silent once more, and she could tell he was accessing. She waited, knowing that the next decision he was going to make would be what they would follow. 

In a burst of movement that caught her off guard, he reached up, unclasped his cape, walked forward and carefully wrapped it around her small shoulders. 

“Oh-” She breathed, surprised he was so close suddenly. His breath was coming out foggy too. It warmed her face as he fastened the cloak around her neck. 

He stepped back, nodding, as if all their problems were solved. “The next nest won’t have more than 30 goblins in it, maybe less. By the time we get done, the sun will be going down. Assuming you don’t want to stay in a Goblin Cave, keep your eyes peeled as we walk so we can find our own.” He was already turning from her. 

She clutched the cape around her, blush on her cheeks as she watched him start to walk away. “Thank you.” She said before she could stop herself. He looked smaller without the cape billowing behind him, and she wanted to run up and hug him. The thought made her blush more as she watched his retreating back.

After a moment, He looked over his metal shoulder, nodding once in acknowledgement before continuing on, determination oozing from his stronger form.

Surprisingly, she felt warm. 

She smiled and raced after him, hugging the cape to her body.


	2. Chapter 2

Priestess watched as Goblin Slayer kicked over the last of the Goblins, checking to see if it was well and truly dead. Her eyes danced around the cave, small for a goblin’s nest, and was relieved there were no captives. The sun had gone down and trying to help a hurt and traumatized woman in this cold weather would have been impossible, especially since they wouldn’t be able to travel back to town in the blizzard that was happening outside.

Priestess sighed and looked back to the Goblin Slayer. He was watching her, clearly echoing her thoughts. She smiled at him. 

“You did amazing. These goblins never stood a chance.” She declared, for lack of better things to say. Goblin slayer didn’t move or say anything, but his posture relaxed minutely, clearly taking her upbeat voice as a sign of her well being.

He moved, standing up. With a practiced ease, he sheathed his sword, walking forward to collect his daggers from unfortunate goblins. She waited, turning to the mouth of the cave to watch the storm, her golden hair catching the torch light. She needed to cut the long strands into something more manageable. Three times a goblin had gotten a hold of it and yanked her down.

“You did a good job, too.” Goblin Slayer’s voice cut the silence. She turned to look at him, surprised. His voice held an awkward note in it, like wasn’t used to the words and had to figure out how to say them. 

“Thank you.” She settled on, watching him. She had cast protection as her last spell to keep all the goblins from running away in a panicked frenzy, once they realized Goblin Slayer was tearing through them like paper. The magical shield kept them all trapped inside the cave and they wouldn’t have to search the surrounding area for stranglers thanks to it. 

He nodded, stoic as always. “Are you ready to go outside?” He asked, eyeing the storm. 

_ Hell no _

She sucked in a hiss, wrapping his cloak around her, nodding reluctantly. Just looking at the snow made her cold. “Yes, let’s go. I can’t stand the smell in here.”

Earlier they had found a cave that Goblin Slayer deemed suitable enough, small with only one tunnel, so nothing could sneak in from behind. It wasn’t a warm inn, for sure, but at the moment, she couldn’t care less. Goblin slayer took the lead as they left, shielding her from the wind so it wasn’t as bad. She shivered still, striding to keep up with him, just behind his back. She hugged his personal space, and if he minded, he didn’t say. Being close to him seemed to make her warmer, so she was glad for his silence on the matter. 

She watched his back as he moved, fascinated. It made her feel a little creepy to be watching him like that, but he would never know about it. It was dark outside and unless he could see out of the back of his head, (which wouldn’t be hard to believe about him at this point) she was safe to stare all she wanted. With the other members of their party gone, she was free to let her hero worship for him leap out like a cat from a bag, without the fear of being made fun of. Dwarf Shaman was a relentless teaser most times, and she could never stare at Goblin Slayer as much as she wanted. Which, again, made her feel like a sleazy creep.

There was just something about him that drew her eyes, no matter how long they were together. 

Goblin Slayer paused in front of her. Hopefully he could find the cave again because he held no torch and they left no marker. The only light they had was from the full moon. He liked to travel stealthily, even if it was pitch black and a regular person would carry a torch anyways. Something about not wanting to give away their position. 

“We’re here.” He said after a moment, angling his body and veering off path. She followed after him, teeth chattering away.

“Are you not freezing?” She asked, slightly jealous as she hobbled after him. He was standing up straight against the wind, unlike her - crouched over like a hunchback and walking like a penguin. He was a mystery, that was certain. 

He didn’t answer her, but paused so she could catch up. The snow at her feet soaked her robes and was about five inches deep at that point. She had to hop like a bunny almost just to speed up. He watched her through the dark, and she could just feel a _ smirk _being thrown her way.

“Could you carry me or something?” She shuddered, her legs and feet feeling like they were about to fall off. At least the wet snow cleaned the bottom of her dragging staff, washing away goblin blood. 

Her question had been a joke, so she let out a surprised squawk when he actually made to grab her. He lifted her up, squishing her against the cold metal of his breast plate as his long legs carried him through the snow with little difficulty. She let out a hysterical laugh, her arms clinging to his shoulders quickly.

_ Oh Merciful _ Earth Mother, this man was going to be the _ death _of her.

“I didn’t actually- I...thank you, sir, but-” She floundered, and she thought she heard a quiet laugh. His fast pace made the wind feel harsher, but if she squinted through the dark, she could see the cave quickly approaching. His cape dangled from her form a bit, spilling over his arms as he held her. She grabbed it after a moment, and brought it around to cover them. It was soaked through, and no longer warm, but it made her feel better. 

When they reached the cave, he sat her down, a quiet sigh escaping his lips as they finally escaped the cold. She shivered, walking into the tunnel as far as she could, dropping her bag to the floor in a huff. She just wanted to get out of her wet clothes and under some warm cover. 

“Can we start a fire?” She asked, getting out her bed roll. He hummed, moving closer and putting down his own bag. 

“I’ll take care of it.” 

She nodded, watching him set up silently. Her teeth were still chattering and she could tell it was going to be a long night. Hopefully the storm outside would die down soon, and they could stay warm.

She doubted it.


End file.
